Political Quotes

“I would like to applaud the Senator from Alabama for focusing attention on the important concerns of stay-at-home parents. I have said repeatedly, and continue to believe, that the best child care providers, particularly in the earliest months and years, are parents. Clearly, where both parents must work, we should try to help them provide the best possible care of their children. However, we should also help parents who make the difficult decision to forego a second income so that one parent can stay at home to care for a child. That is the reason why I introduced legislation, S. 1610, the Child Care ACCESS Act, that will, for the first time, extend the Dependent Care Tax Credit to parents who stay at home to care for their young children. In fact, this piece of legislation, co-sponsored by 26 of my Democratic colleagues, does more for stay-at-home parents than any other proposal that has been introduced. Only this legislation would extend this important financial assistance to stay-at-home parents earning less than $30,000. For such families, the financial sacrifice of forgoing a second income is severe. They certainly deserve as much, if not more, support in staying home to care for their children as families earning more than $30,000. Mr. President, if we are serious about helping parents who want to be home with their children, we should also promptly enact an expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.”